Group Learning Facilitation Tips

There’s something almost magical about watching an idea come alive on a big board or wall. I first experienced this in a workshop many years ago, when instead of PowerPoint slides and endless talking, a facilitator picked up a pen and began sketching what we were saying. Within minutes, the noise in the room turned into clarity. Arguments softened. Ideas grew. Patterns emerged. Suddenly, we weren’t just talking at each other, we were thinking together. That’s the power of graphical facilitation. I've found that visuals create shared understanding. When people see their ideas drawn out, it feels tangible, real, and owned. Visuals cut through complexity. A messy conversation can be captured into a simple diagram that shows how the pieces fit together. Visuals open space for creativity. They invite people to build, adapt, and challenge without getting lost in jargon. It’s not about art. Stick figures and simple shapes are enough. It’s about capturing meaning, making the invisible visible. Here’s where leadership comes in. Graphical facilitation is really powerful when you combine it with the right questions. imagine a leader asking: “What does success look like for us?” and the group sketch the answers into a shared picture. “Where are the bottlenecks in our system?” and mapping them visually with the team. “If this project were a journey, where are we on the map?” and drawing a road with milestones. "What do our customers really experience?" and mapping out the end to end customer journey. This simple combination does something slides never can: it invites people in. It shows them their voice matters, that leadership is not about having the answer but creating the conditions for the best answers to emerge. Try this to get started...: 1. Grab a flipchart or whiteboard. The bigger, the better. 2. Frame a powerful question. Something open, generative, and focused on possibilities. 3. Draw as you listen. Use arrows, boxes, circles, stick people nothing fancy. Capture the flow of ideas. 4. Step back together. Ask: “What do we notice?” or “What stands out?” This is where new insights often spark. 5. Co-create the next step. The group’s picture becomes the group’s plan. In times of complexity, speed, and change, leaders can no longer rely on being the person with the answer. The role has shifted: leaders must become facilitators of thinking, collaboration, and creativity. Graphical facilitation is a leadership skill for the future. It's a way to make ideas visible, align people quickly, and engage teams in solving problems together. And here’s the truth: once people have seen their ideas come to life on the wall, they rarely forget it. It creates ownership, energy, and momentum that words alone can’t achieve. If you want better collaboration, don’t just talk at your team. Draw with them. Ask the right questions. Sketch the answers. Make the invisible visible. You’ll be surprised at what emerges when the pens are in play!

I’ve run close to 1,000 strategy workshops in the last 4 years. Here are 10 things I’ve learned... My journey with workshops started long before consulting. During my 22 years at Disney, I sat through thousands of them worldwide, most of the time as a participant. Back then, I thought I knew what made a workshop effective. I’d seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. But stepping into the role of facilitator changed everything, because my biggest lessons aren’t really about facilitation at all. They’re about how people behave when you put them in a room and ask them to think, decide, and commit together. Here are 10 of my main takeaways: 1) Frameworks help, but they’re not the point. They guide the process and spark ideas, but the real value isn’t in filling boxes or following steps. It’s in the conversations and decisions they nurture. 2) Silence is uncomfortable, but sacred. Psychologists say “group pause” is crucial for deeper thinking. Silence often brings honesty and insight if you know how to interpret it. 3) People are more scared of being seen than of being wrong. Fear of judgment makes people hide. You must create a safe environment, so they can contribute without performing a character. 4) Leaders who speak last enable better conversations. Teams thrive when leaders listen first and synthesize later. It prevents bias, widens input, and shows that every voice matters. 5) The best breakthroughs come after tension, not consensus. Consensus often dilutes outcomes. I prefer to shake things up with constructive friction that stimulates creativity and innovation. 6) Getting the problem right matters more than solving it on time. Framing the problem is more important than solving it fast. It's better to take time than arrive on time at the wrong solution. 7) Participants only see 10% of the facilitator’s work. Most of a workshop’s prework is invisible: structure, research, context. What matters is the energy in the room and the outcomes it creates. 8) You can’t plan for 100%. Something can go wrong. There are always surprises. Facilitation is less about the agenda, more about reading the room to adjust if needed. 9) The workshop’s quality depends on the quality of relationships. Even the best facilitation can’t fix a dysfunctional team. I invest a lot of time in team dynamics because it's the foundation for insightful conversations and alignment. 10) The workshop doesn’t end when the session ends. You must harvest the unspoken thoughts, reflections, and realizations that surface hours or days later. Follow-ups are key because breakthrough happens in the moments that follow. What all of this has taught me is simple: Workshops aren’t really about strategy, they’re about people. If you create the right conditions, the strategy will follow. If you don’t, no framework in the world will save your business. - - - PS: DM me 📩 if you’d like a peek inside the 25+ workshops included in the Brand Strategy Program✷.

Don’t end your session without this… 🛑✋ One of the most common criticisms of icebreaker activities - or any playful exercise, even if it’s framed as a “serious game” - is that they’re a waste of time. And honestly? That criticism is often valid. Not because the activity itself isn’t valuable… but because facilitators skip the most crucial part: 🧠 The debrief. Without reflection, the group misses the why. The experience stays surface-level. And all that potential for insight, connection, and growth? Gone. After the activity, the fun is fading, the adrenaline is dropping… and this is exactly when most facilitators move on. But the best ones? They pause and help the group make meaning. With just a few minutes of thoughtful debriefing, everything shifts. You give participants a chance to slow down, make meaning, and apply what they’ve just felt, learned, or experienced. Because it’s not the activity itself that creates transformation, it’s what we learn from it. I was recently reminded of a debrief activity called the "Traffic Light" after watching a video by Mark Collard, which I would love to share: Instructions 📋 1. Create three spaces (physically or metaphorically) based on the colours of a traffic light: red, yellow, and green. For in-person meetings, mark the spaces using coloured tape (maybe ⭕️🪄 Matthias has a fun #Facilitape Tip for us?) on the floor or place three papers labelled “Red,” “Yellow,” and “Green.” 2. Guide the whole group from one space to the next and ask: 🟢 Green – What should we continue doing that’s working well? 🟡 Yellow – What should we pay attention to or approach with caution? 🔴 Red – What should we stop doing that’s not helping? 3. With enough time, you could also have participants pair up for a conversation about each question, then invite them to share their thoughts in the larger group. But, here’s the key: For the best outcome, adjust the questions based on your activity and debriefing purpose. Here are a few more examples: After a new team experience: 🟢 What behaviours helped us work well together? 🔴 What slowed us down? 🟡 What worked… sometimes? Midway through a retreat or training: 🟢 What’s energizing you so far? 🔴 What’s feeling unclear or overwhelming? 🟡 What’s worth revisiting? After a tough discussion: 🟢 What helped you feel heard? 🔴 What felt off or uncomfortable? 🟡 What might be worth exploring more deeply? What I love about it is that it engages the whole group (especially when you incorporate movement from one space to the next), and it provides people with a safe structure to share honest feedback. Also, I often start with green, move to red, and end with yellow. This way, we always start with something positive and don’t finish on a negative note. 👉 What are your favourite debriefing activities and methods? #facilitationtips #icemeltersbook

🎯 Yesterday’s YPO Germany–Switzerland–Austria Day Chair training turned big ideas into how we actually do it. Amazing insights that make it look so easy but are super hard to execute like a pro. Plus these are frameworks you can (and should) use for any meeting, company event or client workshop. What landed for me: 🪑 The Three-Legged Stool (make every event stand): 📚 Learning — design for actionable takeaways (not keynotes-for-show) 🤝 Networking — engineer peer exchange (tables, rotations, F2F moments) 🎯 Experiencing — offsites/socials that anchor memory & momentum 🧭 E-CODE in practice (not on a slide): 👥 Engage Peers: create a safe haven; use member expertise & peer-to-peer formats 💥 Compel Content: clear outcomes, diverse voices, thought-provoking activities 🧠 Open Minds: multi-sensory, whole-person learning; challenge assumptions 🏁 Deliver Value: know the audience; exceed expectations in planning & follow-through 🌟 Extraordinary Resources: the right facilitators, venues, and tools to lift the bar 🛠️ Sell the event like a pro (the 60-sec Elevator Pitch): ❌ Don’t speak too fast / cram 15 minutes into 1 ❌ Ditch jargon & acronyms—make it understandable ✅ Practice until conversational (human > robotic) ✅ Actually use the pitch to do targeted follow-ups 🔁 Close the loop (so learning compounds): ✚/Δ Plus/Delta at the end → what worked / what to improve 🧪 Separate content feedback from logistics → cleaner signal for next time Events aren’t “nice to have” — they’re our engagement engine for peer-to-peer exchange and new ideas. Proud of this learning group and grateful for an excellent facilitation. 👥 I’ll tag our facilitator and the team on the photo. 👉 Question: What’s one detail you’ve used to turn a good event into a transformational one? #YPO #GSA #Learning #EventDesign #ECODE #Community #BetterLeadersThroughLifelongLearning

𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 Recently I was facilitating a workshop in Chengdu for a global pharmaceutical client. They've medical reps fly in from all over Middle East and Africa and the APAC region. It wasa melting pot because there were almost 50 people from countries such as: 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 🇦🇺 Australia 🇨🇳 China 🇪🇬 Egypt 🇮🇳 India 🇮🇹 Italy 🇯🇵 Japan 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇹🇭 Thailand 🇺🇲 U.S. They differ in so many different dimensions: → Position and seniority → Exposure to training and learning opportunities → Comfort with the English language → Cultures regarding communication and power distance Yet, as I continued to "read the room", I've to constantly adjust my facilitation style. Here are some of the things I did to be as inclusive a facilitator as I can: 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗹𝘆 • I recognise that English is not the native language to most in the room, I spoke slowly to ensure that they can all keep up. • For example, even within the China and Japanese team, there are those who've studied in U.S. or U.K. and they are more proficient, yet I can see others with furrowed brows. • I adjusted my pace accordingly, pausing to check regularly if they understood. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 • 𝘈𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨: I throw in little snippets of interesting information that makes members of the audience feel seen. For example, I shared that 1 of the phenomenon that brings a smile to my face is when I see how when I was in Japan and saw Japanese talking with each other, they'd enthusiastically go "Sou! Sou! Sou! Sou! Sou! Sou!" when they agree with each other. The Japanese felt seen and heard. • 𝘌𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨: When someone shared something from their culture that causes another group of people to raise their eyebrows, I check in with the person to clarify why they had such experience, what was the "thought process" and "meaning-making" behind that. When I was able to distil it to a basic human need, I focus on the human need that's universal, just differently expressed. Usually, the shock turns to surprise and understanding. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 • I check in constantly to get their feedback (Is the pace okay? How exposed are they to the content back in their home country? For some, the content may be too basic, yet for others, it's the first time they're encountering it, so I have to explain this to cater to all. • More importantly, while there's a set of learning objectives, I also know the client's underlying goal is just to get their people together to bond. This approach helped me to deliver the most optimal learning experience for the client. In our increasingly splintered world, we need more understanding and openness to our diversities, not judgment. #WholeHearted #GlobalSpeaker

How do I create a safe environment for my participants in a meeting? 1. I never start a session with the agenda; I start with the tone. “Our goal today isn’t to be perfect, it’s to be curious, honest, and kind.” It signals that this is not an evaluation meeting; it’s a shared exploration space. 2. Before diving into content, I spend the first few minutes co-creating group norms “We listen to understand, not to respond.” “We challenge ideas, not people.” “We invite every voice, including silence.” “Disagree respectfully, but don’t disengage.” 3. Start with a short, emotional or reflective check-in question. It humanizes the room and creates connection. “What’s one word that describes your current mood?” “What’s one thing you’re bringing into this session - focus, fatigue, curiosity?” “If your week were a weather forecast, what would it be?” 4. I make my facilitation invisible. I talk less and listen more, guiding energy rather than controlling it. If someone’s dominating, I redirect with empathy - “Let’s pause and hear from someone we haven’t heard yet.” If the group goes silent, I invite reflection - “Let’s take 30 seconds to think and jot before speaking.” What are your Facilitation techniques? Share in the Comments section. Join the community - Instagram - https://lnkd.in/gxNE-Uue YouTube - https://lnkd.in/gF7CTtE6 Facebook - https://lnkd.in/gk756vGF LinkedIn - https://lnkd.in/gfzJbAfC X - https://x.com/agile_wow Meetup - https://lnkd.in/gudvWcrV WhatsApp - https://lnkd.in/gQiAZQwR #agilewow #ai #artificialintelligence #agile #scrum AgileWoW

Early in my facilitation career, I made a big mistake. Spent hours crafting engaging activities and perfecting every little detail… Thinking that amazing learning design is what would make my workshops stand out and get me rehired. Some went great. Some bombed. You know the ones, sessions where: - One participant dominated the conversation. - People quietly disengaged, barely participating. - half the group visibly frustrated but not saying anything. I would push through, hoping things would course-correct. But by the end, it was a bit… meh. I knew my learning design was great so... What was I missing? Why the inconsistency between sessions? 💡I relied too much on implicit agreements. I realised that I either skipped or rushed the 'working agreements'. Treating it like a 'tick' box exercise. And it's here I needed to invest more time Other names for this: Contract, Culture or Design Alliance, etc... Now, I never start a session without setting a working agreement. And the longer I'm with the group, the longer I spend on it. 25 years of doing this. Here are my go-to Qs: 🔹 What would make this session a valuable use of your time? → This sets the north star. It ensures participants express their needs, not just my agenda. 🔹 What atmosphere do we want to create? → This sets the mood. Do they want an energising space? A reflective one? Let them decide. 🔹 What behaviours will support this? → This makes things concrete. It turns abstract hopes into tangible agreements. 🔹 How do we want to handle disagreement? → This makes it practical. Conflict isn’t the problem—how we navigate it is. ... The result? - More engaged participants. - Smoother facilitation. - Ultimately, a reputation as the go-to person for high-impact sessions. You probably already know this. But if things don't go smoothly in your session. Might be worth investing a bit more time at the start to prevent problems later on. Great facilitation doesn't just happen, It's intentional, and it's designed. ~~ ♻️ Share if this is a useful reminder ✍️ Have you ever used a working agreement in your workshops? What’s one question you always ask? Drop it in the comments!

4 Lessons I've learned from leading countless workshops & offsites: 1️⃣ Relinquish some control Early on, I made the mistake of trying to control the group discussion too much. But that iron grip of control prevented me from hearing some important insights that people wanted to share. Go in with a well-rehearsed game plan, but be open to surprises. Follow productive tangents if the group brings up something interesting. 2️⃣ Give yourself some wiggle room You don't always know where the energy will be in a conversation. It's hard to know if a specific topic will take 15 minutes or 30. To help with that, I've found it helpful to plan some buffer room in the agenda that strategically permits us to run over on one or two topics. 3️⃣ Prepare precise questions to ask I used to think it was okay to just have a rough discussion topic in mind. But then I realized I'd sometimes ask complex, poorly-worded questions that didn't yield helpful insights because everyone was confused. So I learned to prepare precise questions--ones that would elicit the specific insights the group needed to learn or discuss. 4️⃣ Mine for conflict Most people won't disagree with their colleagues unless you do A LOT of work to make it safe. Tell the group that disagreement is important because it makes us better and helps us know what everyone is thinking. Frame your questions as if you're expecting disagreement: "Who has a different opinion?" > "Does anyone disagree?" Occasionally inject your own disagreements into the discussion to prime the pump for others to share. Make it clear that for most questions and topics, there's no one right answer. We have to collectively find the best way to proceed, which involves working through multiple ideas. ******************** What are your favorite facilitation tips?

I had a chance to facilitate a workshop for 130 people. Here what makes it a success. 💡 CHOOSE THE RIGHT METHOD With 130 people and it needs to be a workshop not a seminar, we decided to break into 6 group which every group had 1 facilitator. We only have 2.5 hours so we needs to stick on the timing and start end on time in each activity. 💡 ENGAGING SESSION Need to ensure that each participant feels involved although they are part of a big group. It could be done by asking the representative of each group to share their opinion during plenary session or to ensure everyone contributes during small group discussion. 💡 MANAGE THE ENERGY This is a shared responsibility with the co-facilitator. Need to ensure that everyone is engaged in the discussion, have high energy, and eager to participate. When we see the energy down then we could have a quick intermezzo or icebreaking session to bring the energy back. 💡 PERSONALIZATION The small group discussion format is important to ensure that everyone have their voice to be heard which less likely to be done if we only have 1 big group with 130 people as participants. 💡 CHECK THE IMPACT Make them share the insight, key learnings, and also next action plan that they could implement in day to day work to make their work more effective and efficient. The success of a workshop is always combination of having clear objective to come up with the right format, good preparation, well coordinated facilitators, and good execution on the day. As facilitator, it is important to have high energy when we deliver the session since our energy is contagious. If anyone has additional tips for a successful workshop facilitation, feel free to write in the comment section! DM me for any potential collaboration!

Last quarter I ran a hybrid workshop where our co-located team dominated the conversation and our remote colleagues went radio-silent. I realized my setup and approach (camera pointing in the room, no set meeting protocols) were effectively muting half the group. Studies show that without explicit turn-taking structures, remote participants speak up 30% less than in-room attendees. When you find yourself facilitating a hybrid meeting (of any length), consider these tips: ✅ Dual Facilitator Pairing: One in-room, one online. Each person watching for hand-raises and chat cues. ✅ Virtual First Round-Robin: Start each topic by asking a remote attendee for input first. ✅ Shared Digital Whiteboard: Everyone posts ideas in real time, no physical flipcharts. Give the virtual group the first chance to speak before going to the room. You’ll be surprised how quickly the energy shifts. What’s your hybrid meeting hack? Drop it below! 👇 #Facilitation #HybridWork #InclusiveMeetings #VirtualCollaboration #MeetingTips Sutey Coaching & Consulting ---------- 🎯 Want to elevate your hybrid meetings? Let's chat: https://lnkd.in/gGJjcffw